The Paracast Newsletter
June 11, 2023
www.theparacast.com
Veteran UFO/Paranormal Investigator Christopher O'Brien Reveals His Views on a Controversial UFO Crash/Retrieval Book and Updates the Status of a UFO Detector Network on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! Use the coupon code ufo20 to receive a 20% discount on five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment. And if you don't want to use PayPal, we now also offer a second payment option, from Stripe, which accepts major credit or debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. For "qualified users," you can also take advantage of Pay Later options, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Christopher O’Brien, a former Paracast cohost. During this episode, Chris explains his skepticism of the controversial flying saucer landing/retrieval book, "Trinity — The Best-Kept Secret" from Paola Harris and Jacques Vallee. He also talks about his ongoing work to set up a worldwide network of UFO detectors, and covers the efforts of UFO researcher Ray Stanford. From 1999-2002 Chris investigated hundreds of unexplained events in south-central CO/north-central NM. His investigations are chronicled in his “Mysterious Valley” book trilogy and his event log of UFOs, cattle mutilations, crypto-creatures, etc., is one of the largest databases of unusual occurrences from a single region of North America. His recent book, Stalking the Herd, is the most comprehensive book ever written that addresses the ongoing and perplexing “cattle mutilation” mystery. From 2010 until 2018, Chris was the cohost of The Paracast.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on June 11: UFO investigator Christopher O’Brien, a former Paracast cohost, returns to join Gene and cohost Tim Swartz to talk about the state of UFO research, along with some reminiscences of the past in the field. He has appeared on in over 90 TV show segments and films that include: Ancient Aliens, Coast to Coast, UFO Hunters, Inside Edition, Extra, Tucker Carlson Originals and TC Today, and he co-produced and edited the film It Could Happen Tomorrow, and he’s the winner of two 2012 EBE film festival awards—for Best Feature and Peoples Choice Award and the Award winning documentaryAccidental Truth. His research was funded by Laurance Rockefeller from 1997-2000. Chris also investigated hundreds of unexplained events in south-central CO/north-central NM. His investigations are chronicled in his “Mysterious Valley” book trilogy.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: https://www.theparacast.shop, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel.
About Whistleblowers — Real or Imagined
By Gene Steinberg
Over the endless years of the modern UFO era, some people have come forward claiming to be whistleblowers. They assert that they possess inside knowledge of what the U.S. government knows about UFOs, and thus have decided to reveal that truth.
But such claims just haven’t lined up to reality.
So take the MJ-12 documents.
Please.
They descried an alleged organization known as Majestic 12 whose purpose would fulfill the wet dreams of many UFO believers. It was allegedly created in 1947 with an executive order from President Harry Truman. It’s purpose? To deal with the recovery and study of alleged spacecraft from other planets.
Before you examine the documents, consider the purported membership, which included the military figures you’d expect along with one individual you didn’t expect, Donald Menzel. A noted Harvard astronomer, he carved out a second career as a devout disbeliever in the reality of UFOs.
Was his name included as an inside joke by the perpetrators of the MJ-12 hoax? Well, I suppose one can also consider his intelligence background from World War II, where he helped decipher enemy codes.
So would that mean he’d be a useful asset in trying to decode alien languages and perhaps writings? Possibly, but he wasn’t a linguist. That wasn’t among his areas of expertise.
Another alleged MJ-12 member was the first head of the CIA, Roscoe Hillencoeter. Maybe this was meant as an inside joke too, since he was also a classmate of Major Donald Keyhoe, and once served on the board of Keyhoe’s UFO group, NICAP.
Make it two inside jokes then.
News about MJ-12 first came to the fore when Ufologist Jaime Shandera, a colleague of William Moore, a coauthor of the first Roswell book, “The Roswell Incident,” claimed to have received the documents captured on a roll of film. British UFO author Timothy Good also claimed to be a recipient.
The authenticity of MJ-12 was quickly disproven. Although they might have superficially appeared genuine, the date format and other elements in the documents raised alarm bells. A number of researchers, including Kevin D. Randle, a military veteran, and reporter and newscaster Bob Zanotti (our staff announcer) quickly posted their detailed exposes.
In a rare sense, then, pro-UFO people were aligned with such overeager debunkers as Philip Klass.
Despite all the suspicions, some people continued to believe in MJ-12’s authenticity. The most prominent might be the noted UFO lecturer and writer, Stanton T. Friedman, who maintained almost to his dying day that they were genuine. Even when people brought their concerns to his attention — and I was among that group — he staunchly maintained that belief.
Who created the MJ-12 hoax has not been a serious matter of investigation, although some suspect Moore, who clearly sought evidence in favor of the Roswell crash, and possibly AFOSI intelligence operative and disinformation agent Richard Doty.
Yet another notorious example was the alleged alien autopsy film, released in 1995 by one Ran Santilli from the UK. It depicted an alleged medical examination of a the body of a member of the crew from the 1947 Roswell crash. That the footage, 17 minutes long, was provided on black and white film, made it more difficult to figure out what it really was.
But in 2006, Santilli came clean, sort of, asserting that the film was actually a reconstruction of one that he had seen back in 1992. However, he has never provided proof of that claim, and today it’s still unproven.
Another whistle-blowing episode that ended up as hot air.
Yet another whistleblower report may have more credibility, however. Based on a June 5, 2023 article in an online newsletter, The Debrief (at Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin - The Debrief), we are introduced to 36-year-old David Charles Grusch, described as “a former intelligence official turned whistleblower” in an article from Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean.
Both reporters are well known to listeners of The Paracast, and they were also part of the crew that exposed the existence of a secret Pentagon UFO project in a 2017 article in The New York Times.
Now perhaps the article should have appeared in a more mainstream publication than Debrief, but Blumenthal and Kean evidently did submit a version of the article to the Times and other media outlets. The delay in vetting the piece, plus reports that Grusch had been subjected to alleged online harassment as a result of the revelation of his involvement, hastened their decision to get the report posted as soon as possible.
Grusch claims that he has provided both Congress and a U.S. Inspector General with information about secret programs about “intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin” purportedly recovered by the military.
Now the claims of one individual can surely be attacked, but the article goes on to report that “other intelligence officials, both active and retired, with knowledge of these programs through their work in various agencies, have independently provided similar, corroborating information, both on and off the record.”
The article goes on to quote others who appear to support Grusch’s claims.
One notable example is Christopher Mellon, a former Defense Department official, and an outspoken advocate of serious UFO investigation, who made the following statement:
“A number of well-placed current and former officials have shared detailed information with me regarding this alleged program, including insights into the history, governing documents and the location where a craft was allegedly abandoned and recovered. However, it is a delicate matter getting this potentially explosive information into the right hands for validation. This is made harder by the fact that, rightly or wrongly, a number of potential sources do not trust the leadership of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office established by Congress.”
Now the story hasn’t had a completely favorable reaction.
No less than Kevin D. Randle, for example, cites much of the background information I’ve quoted in his blog, A Different Perspective. As a result, he wants some real evidence to prove the newest claims are genuine.
So he said in a recent commentary: “While two reputable journalists have reported on the story and Grusch has been vetted, the point is that he has offered nothing in the way of corroborative evidence. He has promised it is out there but this is not the time to reveal it. So, I report on what has been said, I note that this is not the first time this has happened, and I wait patiently for the evidence to be presented. Until then, this tale joins all the others we have been fed over the years. Without the corroborative evidence, all we really have is an interesting story told by a man who has offered no evidence and that many of us want to believe.”
He is right to be skeptical, but the article from Blumenthal and Kean makes it clear that others with credible credentials, as described in the article, take the claims seriously. This puts the story a step above other alleged whistleblower reports.
Consider, too, the credentials of the writers of Debrief piece, particularly Blumenthal, a retired New York Times reporter with 45 years on the job, and the winner of a Pulitzer for leading the coverage of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
He’s nobody’s fool and, when he takes a story of this sort seriously, we should pay attention.
That said, I agree with Randle that actual evidence is really needed to truly confirm these claims, if they are genuine. Until that happens, when or if it happens, we are left with more questions than answers.
Copyright 1999-2023 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
June 11, 2023
www.theparacast.com
Veteran UFO/Paranormal Investigator Christopher O'Brien Reveals His Views on a Controversial UFO Crash/Retrieval Book and Updates the Status of a UFO Detector Network on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! Use the coupon code ufo20 to receive a 20% discount on five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment. And if you don't want to use PayPal, we now also offer a second payment option, from Stripe, which accepts major credit or debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. For "qualified users," you can also take advantage of Pay Later options, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present Christopher O’Brien, a former Paracast cohost. During this episode, Chris explains his skepticism of the controversial flying saucer landing/retrieval book, "Trinity — The Best-Kept Secret" from Paola Harris and Jacques Vallee. He also talks about his ongoing work to set up a worldwide network of UFO detectors, and covers the efforts of UFO researcher Ray Stanford. From 1999-2002 Chris investigated hundreds of unexplained events in south-central CO/north-central NM. His investigations are chronicled in his “Mysterious Valley” book trilogy and his event log of UFOs, cattle mutilations, crypto-creatures, etc., is one of the largest databases of unusual occurrences from a single region of North America. His recent book, Stalking the Herd, is the most comprehensive book ever written that addresses the ongoing and perplexing “cattle mutilation” mystery. From 2010 until 2018, Chris was the cohost of The Paracast.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on June 11: UFO investigator Christopher O’Brien, a former Paracast cohost, returns to join Gene and cohost Tim Swartz to talk about the state of UFO research, along with some reminiscences of the past in the field. He has appeared on in over 90 TV show segments and films that include: Ancient Aliens, Coast to Coast, UFO Hunters, Inside Edition, Extra, Tucker Carlson Originals and TC Today, and he co-produced and edited the film It Could Happen Tomorrow, and he’s the winner of two 2012 EBE film festival awards—for Best Feature and Peoples Choice Award and the Award winning documentaryAccidental Truth. His research was funded by Laurance Rockefeller from 1997-2000. Chris also investigated hundreds of unexplained events in south-central CO/north-central NM. His investigations are chronicled in his “Mysterious Valley” book trilogy.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: https://www.theparacast.shop, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel.
About Whistleblowers — Real or Imagined
By Gene Steinberg
Over the endless years of the modern UFO era, some people have come forward claiming to be whistleblowers. They assert that they possess inside knowledge of what the U.S. government knows about UFOs, and thus have decided to reveal that truth.
But such claims just haven’t lined up to reality.
So take the MJ-12 documents.
Please.
They descried an alleged organization known as Majestic 12 whose purpose would fulfill the wet dreams of many UFO believers. It was allegedly created in 1947 with an executive order from President Harry Truman. It’s purpose? To deal with the recovery and study of alleged spacecraft from other planets.
Before you examine the documents, consider the purported membership, which included the military figures you’d expect along with one individual you didn’t expect, Donald Menzel. A noted Harvard astronomer, he carved out a second career as a devout disbeliever in the reality of UFOs.
Was his name included as an inside joke by the perpetrators of the MJ-12 hoax? Well, I suppose one can also consider his intelligence background from World War II, where he helped decipher enemy codes.
So would that mean he’d be a useful asset in trying to decode alien languages and perhaps writings? Possibly, but he wasn’t a linguist. That wasn’t among his areas of expertise.
Another alleged MJ-12 member was the first head of the CIA, Roscoe Hillencoeter. Maybe this was meant as an inside joke too, since he was also a classmate of Major Donald Keyhoe, and once served on the board of Keyhoe’s UFO group, NICAP.
Make it two inside jokes then.
News about MJ-12 first came to the fore when Ufologist Jaime Shandera, a colleague of William Moore, a coauthor of the first Roswell book, “The Roswell Incident,” claimed to have received the documents captured on a roll of film. British UFO author Timothy Good also claimed to be a recipient.
The authenticity of MJ-12 was quickly disproven. Although they might have superficially appeared genuine, the date format and other elements in the documents raised alarm bells. A number of researchers, including Kevin D. Randle, a military veteran, and reporter and newscaster Bob Zanotti (our staff announcer) quickly posted their detailed exposes.
In a rare sense, then, pro-UFO people were aligned with such overeager debunkers as Philip Klass.
Despite all the suspicions, some people continued to believe in MJ-12’s authenticity. The most prominent might be the noted UFO lecturer and writer, Stanton T. Friedman, who maintained almost to his dying day that they were genuine. Even when people brought their concerns to his attention — and I was among that group — he staunchly maintained that belief.
Who created the MJ-12 hoax has not been a serious matter of investigation, although some suspect Moore, who clearly sought evidence in favor of the Roswell crash, and possibly AFOSI intelligence operative and disinformation agent Richard Doty.
Yet another notorious example was the alleged alien autopsy film, released in 1995 by one Ran Santilli from the UK. It depicted an alleged medical examination of a the body of a member of the crew from the 1947 Roswell crash. That the footage, 17 minutes long, was provided on black and white film, made it more difficult to figure out what it really was.
But in 2006, Santilli came clean, sort of, asserting that the film was actually a reconstruction of one that he had seen back in 1992. However, he has never provided proof of that claim, and today it’s still unproven.
Another whistle-blowing episode that ended up as hot air.
Yet another whistleblower report may have more credibility, however. Based on a June 5, 2023 article in an online newsletter, The Debrief (at Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin - The Debrief), we are introduced to 36-year-old David Charles Grusch, described as “a former intelligence official turned whistleblower” in an article from Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean.
Both reporters are well known to listeners of The Paracast, and they were also part of the crew that exposed the existence of a secret Pentagon UFO project in a 2017 article in The New York Times.
Now perhaps the article should have appeared in a more mainstream publication than Debrief, but Blumenthal and Kean evidently did submit a version of the article to the Times and other media outlets. The delay in vetting the piece, plus reports that Grusch had been subjected to alleged online harassment as a result of the revelation of his involvement, hastened their decision to get the report posted as soon as possible.
Grusch claims that he has provided both Congress and a U.S. Inspector General with information about secret programs about “intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin” purportedly recovered by the military.
Now the claims of one individual can surely be attacked, but the article goes on to report that “other intelligence officials, both active and retired, with knowledge of these programs through their work in various agencies, have independently provided similar, corroborating information, both on and off the record.”
The article goes on to quote others who appear to support Grusch’s claims.
One notable example is Christopher Mellon, a former Defense Department official, and an outspoken advocate of serious UFO investigation, who made the following statement:
“A number of well-placed current and former officials have shared detailed information with me regarding this alleged program, including insights into the history, governing documents and the location where a craft was allegedly abandoned and recovered. However, it is a delicate matter getting this potentially explosive information into the right hands for validation. This is made harder by the fact that, rightly or wrongly, a number of potential sources do not trust the leadership of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office established by Congress.”
Now the story hasn’t had a completely favorable reaction.
No less than Kevin D. Randle, for example, cites much of the background information I’ve quoted in his blog, A Different Perspective. As a result, he wants some real evidence to prove the newest claims are genuine.
So he said in a recent commentary: “While two reputable journalists have reported on the story and Grusch has been vetted, the point is that he has offered nothing in the way of corroborative evidence. He has promised it is out there but this is not the time to reveal it. So, I report on what has been said, I note that this is not the first time this has happened, and I wait patiently for the evidence to be presented. Until then, this tale joins all the others we have been fed over the years. Without the corroborative evidence, all we really have is an interesting story told by a man who has offered no evidence and that many of us want to believe.”
He is right to be skeptical, but the article from Blumenthal and Kean makes it clear that others with credible credentials, as described in the article, take the claims seriously. This puts the story a step above other alleged whistleblower reports.
Consider, too, the credentials of the writers of Debrief piece, particularly Blumenthal, a retired New York Times reporter with 45 years on the job, and the winner of a Pulitzer for leading the coverage of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
He’s nobody’s fool and, when he takes a story of this sort seriously, we should pay attention.
That said, I agree with Randle that actual evidence is really needed to truly confirm these claims, if they are genuine. Until that happens, when or if it happens, we are left with more questions than answers.
Copyright 1999-2023 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!